Challengers elected to water board Challengers elected to water board (November 16, 2005)

In a rare contested election, voters in the tiny Los Trancos County Water District elected three new members to the Board of Directors, and unseated two incumbents. Six candidates were running for the three seats.

Top vote-getters were David Smernoff with 159, Perry Blackmon with 141, and Frazier Miller with 140 votes. The race was close, with the losers getting 137, 133, and 133 votes.

The new board will face an unusual challenge. The small water district in the hills south of Portola Valley sold its water service to California Water Service Co. last spring; the new board will have to decide the future of the district.

At issue are what to do with the district's tax income and how to handle its six-plus acres of property, including a small lake.

The possibilities, all legally complicated, range from giving revenue back to customers, to developing recreational facilities for the community, or dissolving the district.

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